Dear friends,
The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that Korean-German scholar Song Du-yul, was freed on 21 July 2004 following the Seoul High Court’s decision to sentence him to three years in jail with the term suspended for five years.
Mr. Song was initially given a seven-year jail term by a lower court on 30 March 2004 for working with the ‘communists’ because of his activities regarding the North Korea regime, which were seen as a violation of South Korea’s controversial National Security Law (NSL). Both sides are currently appealing to contest the decision at the Supreme Court.
Although the High Court decided to lower Mr. Song’s sentence, AHRC is still deeply concerned by Song being prosecuted according to the NSL, which has long been used by the Korean government to suppress people’s rights and punish those with differing political opinions, thereby stalling progress towards democracy and reconciliation in Korea. Please send a letter to the relevant authorities and urge them to drop all charges against Mr. Song on the grounds that the provisions of the NSL violate his freedom of opinion and expression under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), of which South Korea is a state party.
Urgent Appeals Desk
Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC)
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UPDATED INFORMATION:
Mr. Song Du-yul, 60, was released from detention on 21 July 2004 following the Seoul High Court’s decision to sentence him to three years in jail with the term suspended for five years after his defense lawyers appealed the District Court’s verdict of seven-years imprisonment of 30 March 2004.
Mr. Song was taken into custody immediately after he returned home last year with his family, ending a 37-year exile in Germany, for allegedly violating anti-communist provisions in the National Security Law on 22 October 2003. He was arrested after he refused to make a formal pledge of loyalty to the government, and submit a letter declaring his conversion of ideology, which the prosecution authority had demanded.
Mr. Song was given a seven-year jail term by the Seoul District Court on 30 March 2004 according to Articles 3, 5 and 8 of the National Security Law (NSL), for “joining an anti-state organisation” and siding with an “enemy benefiting organisation.” The NSL is applied in an arbitrary fashion: while certain left wing political works are permitted for academic study, possession of or reference to the same works by students or activists with perceived “pro-North Korean” leanings often becomes a criminal offence. Such restrictions on the freedom of expression and opinion violate Article 19 (2) of the ICCPR.
According to the District Court’s verdict of March 30, Mr. Song deserved a “heavy sentence” for “recklessly spreading the ideology” of North Korean founder Kim Il-sung and his son, Kim Jong-il, the nation’s current leader, in South Korea. The court charged that Song—using the alias Kim Chul Soo—secretly served as the 23rd highest-ranking member of the North Korean Workers’ Party Politburo, which Song has continuously denied.
The High Court rejected most of the key charges against Song. In particular, the Court said there was no clear evidence proving that he was a member of the politburo of North Korea’s ruling Workers’ party. The Court also toned down the significance of Song’s pro-North Korean activities while living in Germany.
Meanwhile, Mr. Song’s prosecution and the verdict of the lower court had drawn criticism from European intellectuals, including Nobel Prize-winning novelist Gunter Grass and the noted philosopher Jurgen Habermas, who is considered to be Song’s mentor. In another instance, 48 German political and academic leaders delivered a statement calling for Mr. Song’s release to the Presidential office, as did hundreds of Korean students studying in Germany.
AHRC is gravely concerned with Song’s indictment according to the NSL and the verdict given by the Seoul High Court. While the Court’s decision rejected many of the prosecution’s ill-founded charges against Song, it still found Song to have ‘anti-state sympathies’. In the end, the Court was punishing Song for expressing his different opinions and beliefs, which is a violation under the NSL. In fact, this was the sole reason for his prosecution; his prosecutors said they decided to indict him as he showed few signs of regret over his past actions. This indicates that the prosecution was attempting to force him to convert his ideology, which is further illustrated by the continuous demand for Song to make a formal pledge of conversion and submit a letter to this effect, both of which Song refused to do.
The NSL has been used as an excuse to deny people the right to express different political views and to exercise fundamental human rights including the right to freedom of expression as established in international standards including the ICCPR since 1948.
Therefore, both Mr. Song’s prosecution and the verdict of the High Court according to the NSL violate fundamental human rights and principles of international law. Under the NSL people continue to be arrested for merely discussing reunification, publishing socialist or “pro-North Korean” material or having views considered similar to those of the North Korean government. Regardless of whether it differs from the state’s ideology, one’s right of opinion and expression should be respected by the state in accordance with international human rights standards and laws. Thus, the prosecution should drop all charges against Mr. Song, including its pending appeal at the Supreme Court, allowing Mr. Song to be released unconditionally.
SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please send a letter, fax or email to the relevant authorities expressing your concern regarding this case.
1. Mr. Roh Moo-hyun
President
1 Sejong-no, Jongno-gu
Seoul 110-820,
REPUBLIC OF KOREA
Tel: +822 770-0018
Fax: +822 770-0347 or 770-0001 / +822 770-2579 (for appeal)
E-mail:
president@cwd.go.kr
2. Mr. Soog kwang-soo
Prosecutor General
1730-1 Seocho3-dong Seocho-gu
Seoul 137-730
REPUBLIC OF KOREA
Tel: +822 3480 2000
Fax: +822 3480 2555
3. Mr. Choi Jong-young
Chief Justice
Supreme Court
967 Seocho3-dong Seocho-gu
Seoul 137-730
REPUBLIC OF KOREA
Tel: +822 3480-1001 / 1002
4. Mr. Kim Seung-kuy
Minister of Justice
1 Jungang-dong, Kwachon-si,
Kyonggi Province, 427-760,
REPUBLIC OF KOREA
Fax: +822 504-3337 / +822 503 7046 (HR Department)
E-mail: jk.kim@moj.go.kr
5. Chang-kook Kim
President
National Human Rights Commission of Korea
16 Euljiro 1-ga, Jung-gu
Seoul 100-842
REPUBLIC OF KOREA
Tel: +82 2 2125 9700
Fax: +82 2 2125 9811 / 9666
E-mail: nhrc@humanrights.go.kr
6. Mr. Ambeyi Ligabo
Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression
c/o Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights
United Nations Office at Geneva
1211 Geneva 10
SWITZERLAND
Fax: +41 22 917 9003
E-mail: urgent-action@ohchr.org
To support this case, please click here: SEND APPEAL LETTER
SAMPLE LETTER
Dear _________,
RE: Song Du-yul sentenced by High Court under the National Security Law
I am writing to you in concern at the verdict of Korean-German Scholar Song Du-yul by the Seoul High Court on 21 July 2004 which sentences him to three years in jail with the term suspended for five years.
Mr. Song was initially sentenced to seven years imprisonment by Seoul District Court on 30 March 2004 on the grounds that he violated the National Security Law (NSL). After an appeal by his lawyers however, Mr. Song was given a lower sentence by the Seoul High Court on 21 July 2004.
I am gravely concerned with Song’s indictment according to the NSL and the verdict given by the Seoul High Court. While the Court’s decision rejected many of the prosecution’s ill-founded charges against Song, it still found Song to have ‘anti-state sympathies’. In the end, the Court was punishing Song for expressing his different opinions and beliefs, which is a violation under the NSL. In fact, this was the sole reason for his prosecution; his prosecutors said they decided to indict him as he showed few signs of regret over his past actions. This indicates that the prosecution was attempting to force him to convert his ideology, which is further illustrated by the continuous demand for Song to make a formal pledge of conversion and submit a letter to this effect, both of which Song refused to do.
The NSL has been used as an excuse to deny people the right to express different political views and to exercise fundamental human rights including the right to freedom of expression as established in international standards including the ICCPR since 1948.
Therefore, I urge the prosecution to drop all charges against Song, including its pending appeal at the Supreme Court, allowing Song to be released unconditionally. I further urge the Korean government to abolish the NSL, which has been used to suppress people's rights for a long time and also appears to contradict the government’s “Peace and Prosperity Policy” of engagement with North Korea. Whatever the state's ideology is, one's right of opinion and expression should be respected by the state in accordance with international human rights standards and laws.
Sincerely yours
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Thank you.
Urgent Appeals Programme
Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC)
